Still dancing

Apr 6, 2006

Madge hits the road for disco revival

Dig around the closet for those old legwarmers and stirrup pants, kids: Madonna is calling it a “disco summer.” This week, gaydom’s good witch announced dates for her tour in support of her recent disco-pop mix, “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”

Though the tour officially begins in Los Angeles on May 21, a spot at California’s annual Coachella festival on April 30 will mark the fortysomething diva’s first-ever festival appearance.

Currently, there are no Texas stops planned for the “Confessions” tour, which includes dates in Montreal (June 21), Boston (July 6), Miami (July 22) and New York City (June 28-29), among others. But if the show is as good as Madonna is bragging it will be (keep in mind, she brags a lot), we’ll be hearing and maybe seeing more of her slinky retro grooves this year.

Gilbert Garcia

6-STRING SIREN

Regularly compared to Janis Joplin and Melissa Etheridge, Dallas-born Patrice Pike, pictured, has been on the verge of a big break for longer than most locals would care to remember. A minor star after the success of her Austin jam-band Sister Seven in the early 90s, Pike’s singing and songwriting talents have only improved as she’s grown older.

Though the arresting bisexual siren continues on an endless tour of Texas and states near and far, Pike’s recorded output has sadly dwindled over the last few years. If you get a chance, ask the fiery singer and gifted songwriter when we can expect fresh material that will blow us away. Pike’s alluring talent shouldn’t be kept under wraps for this long. Gilbert Garcia

Throughout their 12-year career, slow-core veterans Low have learned to be exactly the opposite of what was expected. In the face of the fast and loud punk scene in their native Duluth, Minn., the trio played quietly and almost too slowly. Rather than being angry or resentful in their disquiet, their songs were saddened yet unflinching. Given the group’s chilly, almost solemn music, it’s no surprise that Low would play such an integral part of the soundtrack of queer Texas filmmaker Jonathan Caoutte’s haunting autobiographical memoir “Tarnation.”

Now expected to the slowest and the softest, Low have recently released “The Great Destroyer,” an accessible album that often eases into straight-on rock and sometimes pop. Headlining the opening night of Fort Worth’s Wall of Sound Festival, Low should prove to be much more than the droning shoe-gazers everyone has come to expect. G. G.